Every year at the Goldsmith Awards Ceremony we celebrate a leading figure in journalism and media with the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism. This year’s honoree was Kathleen Carroll, longtime reporter and Executive Editor for the Associated Press, who successfully oversaw one of the world’s largest independent news agencies through a period of intense change in the industry. 

Though the 2020 awards ceremony had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are thrilled to honor Kathleen’s accomplishments and contributions to journalism, and to celebrate her extraordinary career with this tribute. 

Read a transcript of this video here: https://shorensteincenter.org/kathleen-carroll-tribute-video-transcript/

Thanks to the Associated Press and the Committee to Protect Journalists for providing images from Kathleen Carroll’s distinguished career for this video. Thanks also to her colleagues who spoke with us about their experiences working with Kathleen, particularly Kathy Gannon and John Daniszewski. 

About Kathleen Carroll and the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism

The Goldsmith Career Award is given for outstanding contributions to the field of journalism, and for work that has enriched political discourse. Past recipients of the Career Award include Gwen Ifill, Nicholas Kristof, Jorge Ramos, Martha Raddatz, Andrea Mitchell, and Marty Baron.

Kathleen Carroll was Executive Editor and Senior Vice President of the Associated Press from 2002 through 2016, where she was responsible for coverage from journalists in more than 100 countries, including groundbreaking new bureaus in North Korea and Myanmar. Under her leadership, AP journalists won numerous awards, among them five Pulitzer Prizes – including the 2016 Pulitzer for Public Service – six George Polk Awards, and 15 Overseas Press Club Awards. She is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists, where she has served on the board since 2008. Carroll first joined the AP’s Dallas bureau in 1978, and was also a writer or editor for the AP in New Jersey, California and Washington. Previously, Carroll led the Knight Ridder Washington bureau, was an editor at the International Herald Tribune and at the San Jose Mercury News, and a reporter at the The Dallas Morning News in her hometown. She currently serves on the board of the weekly Montclair Local newspaper and served on the board of the Pulitzer Prizes from 2003-2012, the last year as co-chair.